Back catalogue: Techno (Alles)

Review: Sadly, there was no Love International festival this year, but the team behind it have given us the next best thing: a new volume in their superb "The Sound of Love International" compilation series from friend-of-the-family and beach stage mainstay Shanti Celeste. After opening with a typically spacey and dreamy new collaboration with her friend Saoirse - the intergalactic techno haziness of "Solid Mass", the Peach Discs co-founder treats us to a heady mixture of chunky, sunrise-ready breaks (Persian), drowsy ambient dub (Seekers International), deep space house and techno (EBE, Gideon Jackson, Carl Lekebusch), Barbarella's-ready peak-time fare (Perpetual, Paco Pack), angular late night dancefloor sleaze (Mark Seven) and weightless ambient bliss (Pauline Anna Stom).

Review: He might be in the autumn of his career but Jean Michel Jarre remains an innovator in the field of electronic music. His last album in 2022, Oxymore, was another pioneering exploration of rhythm and sound that has now been reworked alongside a series of collaborators all picked by the man himself. The nine-track selection brings wholly new perspectives to the originals which he calls "a vibrant collection of musical dialogues." An immediate standout for us is the track with Nina Kraviz which is crunchy, distorted minimal techno, while 'Epica Extension' with Brian Eno is laced up with otherworldly melodies. A great work from a mix of great artists.

Review: Music From Memory share the CD edition (there's also a vinyl release) of their latest in a series of compilations, which focuses on the tide of new ambient and minimalist electronica which came about at the turn of the millennium, Virtual Dreams. Whilst the first volume focused on the techno and electronica musics emergent in Europe in 1993-99, Virtual Dreams Vol. 2 homes in on Japan during the same period, tracking the regional, geosonic differences between each global cultural centre. Tracing a fibrous thread, that began to weave itself of its own accord, out from the early 90s acid house FOMO experienced in Japan's early days, through to its restful response with the dawn of "listening techno" proffered by the likes of Sublime Records, Syzygy Records and Frogman Records, many of the tracks featured therein cull their choices from not only these leading lights but also the odd and not-so-odd rarity, helping usher in a truer representation of the era.

Review: Music From Memory totally recall and compile this next instalment in their popular multi-artist compilation series, Virtual Dreams. This time centring on Ambient Explorations In The House And Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999, this second edition in the series follows on from the first released in 2020, and continues to shine a light on the house and techno-adjacent music that helped redefine the definition of ambient music during the 1990s. While the first focused on Europe, we venture far further East here, primarily riffing on the many ambient flows and sequential somnaumblisms eminent from the J-shaped isle from the time, including the trans-missive floater, 'Phoenix At Desert' by Akio and the pulse-tidal electro phaseout, Web's 'The Cycle Of Seasons'.

Review: 12th Isle revisits the various artist compilation format with a new release that expands on their 2019 outing 'Inkosi' to deliver a club-focused mixtape across six tracks. Echo Party kicks things off with a dub-heavy extended mix that originally featured on Murray Collier & Hannan Jones's self-released CD-R. Italian newcomer Guizzi offers a thunderous downtempo track with tight conga percussion that meshes well with this label's musical MO and Der Opium Queen delivers a propulsive, video game OST-style dance hit that calls to mind Les Aeroplanes on Jamal Moss's Mathematics label. On Side B, a freak-folk skit by Memotone, motorik beats from Lo Kindre, and bleep-infused dub techno by Toronto-based Raf Reza all bang. .

Review: Parisian imprint Antinote has long been an eclectic outlet for left-of-centre dance music and carved out a musical lane truly of its own. It celebrates its 10 year anniversary with this well curated compilation featuring new music by the label's graphic designer Nico Motte on the low slung acid boogie of 'All The Money In The World', Domenique Dumount appears with the dubby underground pop of 'La Dolce Vita', local producer Low Jack pursuing his typically relentless sound on the off-kilter 'Feel' and sometime collaborator (and LIES Records chief) Ron Morelli getting those classic Detroit vibes of old in effect on 'Tribute' among many more.

Review: This double album on Profan marks the grand finale of Wolfgang Voigt's 'Best of' 1990s vinyl series which rightly celebrates a transformative decade in electronic music. This ninth instalment features a mix of iconic classics and first-time vinyl releases spanning from M:I:5 to Wassermann and culminating in a triumphant close to the era. As the music builds, it captures the energy and emotion of the decade before fading into the chiming bells of New Year's Eve. Part of the exclusive Earquake BOX, this release is both a tribute to and a culmination of the great Voigt's pioneering work during the nineties.